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Sunday, February 08, 2015

Homemade Meringue and An Easy Peasy Dessert

I can't remember ever going to my grandmother's house and there isn't a big green tin on her kitchen shelf that's full of meringues. We would get an after lunch treat of ice cream with meringue crumbled over the top. Or a bowl of fresh ripe raspberries with meringue on top. Or just a meringue to go with your afternoon coffee. My sister absolutely loves them, so much that my grandmother brought over a whole tin for Christmas.

People are often confused when they see I freeze my egg whites when I only need the yolk for a recipe. But egg whites actually freeze really well and once I have a small container full I usually whip up a batch of meringue.

My Grandmother's Meringue

Egg whites (can also be frozen and thawed with the lid off the container)

70g sugar per egg white

Dash of lemon juice

Beat egg whites in a bowl, add a little bit of lemon juice to help it aerate better. When the egg white has stiffened up to forming soft peaks add a third of the sugar and beat until it is really stiff (so you could cut it with a knife). Quickly fold through the remaining sugar.

Transfer mixture to a piping bag and pipe meringues on a tray lined with baking paper. The meringues will keep their shape so you can pipe them fairly close together.

Alternatively you can spoon the mixture onto the baking paper and form little nests.

These should be fairly firm meringues so rather than baking them dry them in an oven at 80°C with the door slightly ajar for 4-5 hours. (I simply put a wooden spoon in the oven door).

Keep the cooled meringues in an airtight metal cookie containers. They keep for ages!

Whenever you need to whip up a quick dessert just fall back on your tin of meringues.

Whip up some cream, cut some fruit that's in season and layer with the meringue in a glass.

I used some mango, strawberries and blueberries as they are all very cheap at the moment. Make the most of the fruit that's around! And then enjoy this delicious, quick and easy dessert.

This recipe was originally published on my other blog edgeofmyplate.blogspot.com.auwhere I talk about restaurants and cafes in Melbourne as well as try out new recipes.